This invention relates to a lubricating apparatus, more particularly to a lubricating apparatus able to provide grease or other lubricant automatically to a location, that is without manual intervention.
Automatic greasing equipment is well known. The equipment has the virtue of providing a constant supply of lubricant to a bearing, shaft or anything else that needs to be lubricated, without manual interference. It is not necessary to keep a schedule of what bearings need to be lubricated, and it is ideal for bearings and shafts in difficult locations, whether that location be merely inaccessible or inhospitable by virtue of extreme temperatures and the like. The lubricating apparatus provides a constant flow of grease.
The best known method in the prior art of applying the grease is to generate gas pressure in a lubricator above a supply of the grease. The grease is then forced out of the lubricator. Gas pressure may be developed by chemical reaction. The gas generates the necessary pressure to force the grease from the outlet of the lubricator.
The prior art has used a neoprene or rubber diaphragm to be distended by the gas and to force the grease out. In addition applicant""s Canadian patent 1,280,700, and the several patents that correspond to it, describe and claim the use of a bellows. The bellows has the advantage of providing more consistent performance than the diaphragm.
The prior art equipment has proved to be reliable and long-lasting. Apparatus developed by applicant is able to provide lubrication of a bearing for up to three years. As a result it has achieved excellent acceptance in the art.
There is, however, still room for improvement. For example, there is a need to achieve more consistent and more prompt feed of grease for all conditions and the present invention is addressed to that need.
Accordingly the present invention provides a lubricating apparatus comprising a chamber to receive a lubricant and having an outlet for lubricant, a movable member movable to drive lubricant from the chamber, through the outlet, a motor having a drive shaft, drive means driven by the motor and attached to the movable member, whereby rotation of the motor moves the drive means to drive the movable member towards the outlet to force lubricant from the outlet.
The movable member may be a piston that is a close fit within the chamber, or a bellows. It may be a shaft urged downwardly by the motor.
Usually the motor will be an electric motor and it is desirable that the apparatus include a battery for the motor. A battery is not essential. For example, the motor can be driven from the mains. Nevertheless, it is normally considered desirable to have the apparatus of the present invention completely self-contained during its operating life.
The apparatus should include switches and controls for the electric motor. Thus, the present invention further comprises a programmable electronic control circuit for establishing pre-selected times and durations at which the electric motor is turned on, thereby controlling delivery of lubricant from the outlet.